Outdoor Project

The ultimate adventure guide

The first climb onto Specimen Ridge.

The Yellowstone River can be seen early on in the hike.

Mount Washburn with lupin in the forefront.

Sharing the trail with antelope.

The hike climbs gradually to the summit of Amethyst Mountain.

Wide open views are an exciting part of the hike.

The Carin's often have stacks of antlers and posts in them to help navigate the way.

Trees marked with blazes also support route finding.

Indian paintbrush and lupine are abundant on the trail.

Looking for signs of wildlife on the forest edges.

Navigating the ridge.

Looking into the Lamar Valley.

Taking a break on the ridge.

Looking northeast down specimen ridge.

One of the larger elk shed collections on the trail.

Looking into the Lamar Valley at the confluence of the Lamar River and Soda Butte Creek. The Beartooh Mountains are in the background.

The Thunderer and Mount Norris are very impressive mountains.

The Beartooth Mountains are the most rugged mountains in the park.

Relaxing a bit after getting rushed off the ridge by a thunderstorm.

Wild daisys are abundant on the hike off of Amethyst Mountain.

Check with a ranger about the condition of the ford before starting the hike.

Crossing the Lamar Valley.

Buffalo wallows can make the trail a little messy.

The bridge across Soda Butte Creek takes you to the Soda Butte/Lamar River Trailhead.